I try to never say I hate something…so, let’s just say I highly dislike jogging.
But I love to exercise.
There is something about getting hot, tired and sweaty that energizes me. Almost any activity will do. Give me Chalene Extreme, Shaun T or even P90X videos. I will do hour-long weight training, 30 minute HIIT routines, Zumba or R.I.P.P.E.D classes. I even enjoy plain, old-fashioned calisthenics like sit ups, push-ups and squats. I love to ride my bike for miles or walk endlessly.
But jogging simply doesn’t do it for me. I will procrastinate until the last minute before I absolutely cannot put it off any longer. In fact, I’m doing that as I write this.
Procrastinating.
It is 2:26 pm and I have someone coming over at 3:45. I can put it off until 3:15, and I’m sure I will. It’s only one mile, in less than 12 minutes.
TWELVE stinking minutes!
Yet, I procrastinate.
Why am I doing it if I dislike it so much you ask? Why not do a workout I actually enjoy?
The answer is simple. I have to. I’m taking a Self-Defense Class and one of the requirements is to run a 12 minute mile. Doesn’t sound too difficult if you are an active 20-year-old college student, which I am not. In fact, I think I am the oldest person in the class. I have some issues with my left foot and ankle, so I haven’t jogged at all in about 7 or 8 years. I power walk, but let me tell you…
It is not the same!
The class started about 5 weeks ago, and even though our runs weren’t being timed yet, I felt pretty confident. I was finishing right about in the middle of the group each time. Hey, don’t judge. Being just “average” when you are 50 years old with a bunch of 20-somethings really isn’t all that shabby! 😉
It wasn’t until the week before we were to be timed that I thought maybe I better run a few days at home, so I could actually decrease my time instead of staying the same. Running at home is harder, because half the mile has to be run up a hill. My time was 12:40. I was fairly confident I could do the run at the school in 12 minutes, since it is all on level ground.
Last Tuesday was our first timed run. I came in at 10 minutes and 40 seconds.
I was ecstatic! What a confidence booster and encouragement.
Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t make me enjoy running.
But it felt good to know I came in under the required time. I decided I would try to shave off 30 seconds from my time by our next class, which was on Thursday, just two days away. I had walked part of the route, and I knew if I just ran a little more than I did on Tuesday, I could do it.
Thursday came. I felt pretty good about it all, and was sure I could at least do a little better. So you can imagine my discouragement when my time came in at 12 minutes 10 seconds. I know I ran farther and walked less. Not sure what happened, but I determined that the next class run, I would do better. To meet that goal, I wanted to run every day between classes. Turns out, I could only run 2 of the 4 days.
We’ll see how I do tomorrow.
When I started writing today, I titled this post The Power of Perseverance. But nothing came to mind. So I erased the title and just started writing. As I re-read this post, I realize I can keep my original title, because this post has a lot more to do with perseverance than I first thought it would.
It’s so easy to persevere in doing those things we enjoy, or the things that come naturally to us. In fact, I’m not sure that could even be called perseverance.
But when we push through in those things that are difficult for us, those things we don’t enjoy doing, something special happens.
The victory we find as we accomplish the challenge is somehow more sweet.
It delivers a kind of confidence within us that makes us stand a little taller.
It makes us feel a little braver.
It makes us attempt new things…more difficult things.
…and our confidence grows.
Fit & Fearless after Fifty 